Pakistani army officer escapes gun attack

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two suspected militants on a motorbike fired shots on Tuesday at a Pakistan army brigadier in the capital, Islamabad, but missed, police said.

The attack was the second on a senior army officer in less than a week and comes as the military is embroiled in a massive offensive against Pakistani Taliban militants in South Waziristan.

Taliban insurgents have carried out several urban attacks since the army launched an assault on their rural strongholds 10 days ago.

Brigadier Moin-ud-din Ahmed, deputy force commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, was killed in a drive-by shooting last week, while on Tuesday militants sprayed gunfire at a car carrying Brigadier Waqar Ahmed, his mother and a driver.

"No-one is hurt, everyone is fine," senior police official Khursheed Khan said, adding that the assailants escaped.

Security officials have warned of the possibility of more urban attacks as the militants are squeezed out of their strongholds in Waziristan, with the Taliban hoping bloodshed and disruption will cause the government and ordinary people to lose their appetite for the offensive.

Fears of attacks have also affected the financial markets, and stocks ended down 0.63 percent to 9,315.69 on Tuesday.